My Big Sister Gift

We are about 1 day to delivery and I have just finished packing my hospital bag with some items to fill in at the very last minute; this was actually no.1 on my checklist because I have contractions every now and then since late second trimester but I don’t know why I am only doing it now. This pregnancy passed by in a whirlwind and to be honest, I think reality will only set in when I’m at the hospital. These days, although I am having the scary thoughts of delivery and just last night I actually dreamt about it, there was actually something else on my mind – An older sibling gift.

The older generation would go ‘HUH, NEED ANOT?’, ‘NO NEED LA’, ‘FOR WHAT?’ But I thought I really wanted to gift something to Charley as an older sibling…of course I have to highlight that the gift actually ‘comes from the baby brother’. It is not a common practice in local context to be giving the ‘Older Sibling Gift’ but it is actually quite a practice in western countries. Parenting experts mentioned that this practice does ease the jealousy of firstborn into accepting the new baby. Charley has since been patiently waiting for her gift.

While I went around searching for ideas on what to get for the firstborn, it dawned to me that if the gift comes from me, I would definitely want to give her something more practical and useful. While there are a million options of toys I can get for Charley, I really didn’t want redundant toys around the house. I mean, I might eventually be the one keeping them in order isn’t it? Initially, I wanted something more practical, something that she could learn new things about, hands-on and could interest/ excite her. I’ve wanted to DIY a craft bag for her but she does have quite a fair bit of paint palettes from school birthdays and crayons/ colouring pencils from relatives. Thus, I’ve decided to ask her what she really wants. I guess it is okay to give her a ‘luxury’ item (from a children’s perspective) since it was a one time gift from the baby brother. It could be anything she wants. So, she had requested a Frozen Princess Crown from baby brother. It has been a few weeks that we firmed up on this present but she hasn’t forgotten about it one bit.

Since I’ve done up some homework, I’m sharing what good practical gifts you could possibly get for the firstborn if you’re interested:

1. DIY Craft Bag

You could get a big file from places such as Popular or Kinokuniya and get kid-friendly crayons from Crayola etc, not forgetting to include a drawing board for those creative hands to work on. One of the mom I asked some opinions for recommended Smiggle merchandise because they’re very colorful and attractive. I went to the store and I almost wanted to get everything! Luckily I had some self control and left the store empty handed.

2. Sibling matching shirts(Not sponsored)

There’s a few online sites that provides printing on shirts/ rompers with personalized messages. Chanced upon this site Toddley Thoughts and if you’re a fan of personalized clothings – they probably have everything you want.

3. Story Books (Not sponsored)

I’ve got a ‘sibling’ book that actually gives her an idea of what’s about to happen. It was a good recommendation from the Mommy Facebook Group which I’m in and I feel that somehow, Charley understands what’s about to come..even though I think she will feel like the sky is crashing when the reality sets in for her. The book we are reading is I’m a Big Sister by Joanna Cole and we got it from Book Depository. If your firstborn is a boy, they have it in the other gender too. Aside to that, you can also find fun books to get as the older sibling gift. There are coloring books, activity books, sticker books. The options are endless! You can try The Groovy Giraffe, Little Good Books, Open School Bag or there’s this new Book Subscription from Josh & Cherie where they send you a book parcel monthly.

4. Toys

All children love toys. It’s a matter of how long they are going to play with it.

I would recommend an activity table with water/sand play or automated bubble machine, or toys that somehow the entire family can play along together. In that way, the younger child would get to play (in time) too!

Above are just some options I’ve put together in a short span of time. If you’ve good recommendations, do feel free to share!

So, I’ve gotten her gift and I hope this is what she wants. I hope her face lights up when she sees both her baby brother..and her little gift tomorrow! Tomorrow is the first morning she will wake without me by her side and I hope she will do well. Dear Charley, thank you for being so patient with me (during this pregnancy I must say you’re a rather sensible and good girl!) albeit the monstrous moments, late night kicks/cries and the recent few days of preferring Daddy over Mommy.

Meowmee

Mom to a toddler (3 yo), a newborn and a new family of 4. Still feeling every bit like a kid on most other days. In this blog, I hope to be able to help new mums like myself based on some of the experiences I have. I'm also looking forward to making more friends around the world. I strive to be a supermum (one day) and thanks for reading our blog!

If you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at m.tanyz@gmail.com :)